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FCM Winter 2018 Retreat at the Franciscan Center

  • 25 Jan 2018
  • 3:00 PM
  • 29 Jan 2018
  • 1:00 PM
  • Franciscan Center, Tampa, Florida

Registration


Registration is closed

Florida Community of Mindfulness Winter Retreat

at the Franciscan Center in Tampa


Deconstructing the World of Self

January 25 – 29, 2018


For students of Dharma, the issues of ‘self and ego’ and ‘non-self and non-ego’ are central to our spiritual quest and awakening. At the core of all our emotional dramas and melodramas is our self, the tyrant of our experience that wants to turn all our interactions into a story about “I, me, mine”. It is this fundamental ignorance of the way things really are that prevents us from experiencing our fundamental oneness and connection with everything and everyone.


The Buddha stated that this belief in the permanent and solid nature of one’s self is the major cause of our ensnarement in the worlds of dissatisfaction, confusion and emotional affliction. The intellectual and, most importantly, experiential resolution of this seeming paradox – i.e. what appears to be solid and real is not – has major implications for the personal well-being or ill-being that is our daily experience.


During the four days of this retreat, through targeted teachings and meditations, participants will be given the tools and opportunity to look deeply into the very core structure of self/ego to view its essential unreality and phantom-like existence. With a deep and thorough understanding of self or ego and how the “I, me, mine” paradigm distorts our experience, liberation from suffering can be realized. Then, the possibility of selfless living can naturally manifest.


The retreat is being held in Tampa, Florida at The Franciscan Center, located on the Hillsborough River. The registration fee covers both room and board (three vegetarian meals daily), as well as any administrative and incidental expenses connected to the retreat. The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teacher freely gives of him or herself to the students out of gratitude for what has been received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage.


The retreat begins with dinner on Thursday, January 25th, and ends after lunch on Monday, January 29th. We ask that all retreatants attend the entire time of the retreat; if you cannot arrive by 6 pm on Thursday, January 25th and stay until lunch on Monday, January 29th, please do not register. No late arrivals or early departures are permitted, as they significantly interfere with the process of retreat for everyone.


The Franciscan Center has both single and double occupancy accommodations. If you are seeking double occupancy and have someone you wish to room with, please indicate their name when you register. Otherwise, you will be placed in a room with another participant who has requested double occupancy as well. The registration fee for single occupancy is $440 and the fee for double-occupancy is $390. A limited number of Retreat Scholarships may be available. Please click here to see FCM’s Retreat Scholarship Policy and for an Application, which must be submitted prior to the registration deadline for this retreat.


Please note that participation in this retreat is open only to members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness. While participation in our local sanghas and Days of Mindfulness is open to everyone, membership in FCM is for persons wanting to deepen their practice of living an awakened life by being part of a dedicated practice community, having a direct relationship with a Dharma teacher, and participating in practice opportunities such as Intensives and longer retreats. 


Once registration has closed, all members who registered by the posted cut off date will be considered for acceptance into the retreat based on creating a balance between newer members and longer term ones; between those who’ve gone to several or many retreats in the past year and those who haven’t; between those who live in the Tampa Bay area and those who live in other places. Please note that your registration does not guarantee acceptance into the retreat. Registrants will receive an email stating either acceptance into the retreat or placement on the waiting list within a few days of the closing of registration.


The retreat registrar will be sending additional information to accepted registrants before the retreat begins, including directions to the Franciscan Center and other retreat information.


The last day to register for the retreat is Monday, December 11.





Florida Community of Mindfulness, Tampa Center
6501 N. Nebraska Avenue
Tampa, FL 33604

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Naples Sangha

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